mrsalwaysreading's Reviews (624)

The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club

Gloria Chao

3.5

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club

By Gloria Cho

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Pub Date: June 24, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was fun!

It was very ‘John Tucker Must Die’ mixed with a little ‘First Wives Club’ and a murder mystery.

A touch reminiscent of Vera Wang.

The audio was well done and I appreciated listening to the story unfold - especially as the dual pov of a podcast was introduced.

The twist at the end was well executed.

How to Survive a Horror Story

Mallory Arnold

4.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

How To Survive A Horror Story

By Mallory Arnold

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: July 8, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

If Monster House and Gone Girl made you feel some type of way, this book is NEXT LEVEL.

You think you know what’s coming, but you don’t.

It gives Fall Of The House Of Usher vibes.

Multi POV.

This book felt a lot like a high stakes game of clue. So much fun.

It Happened One Summer

Tessa Bailey

3.0

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It Happened One Summer

By Tessa Bailey

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I basically read this for a quick-start to some of the Summer bingos that have a summer-in-the-title prompt.

Open door romance.

Grumpy X Sunshine.

He Falls First.

Happily Ever After.

Someone Knows: A Novel

Vi Keeland

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Someone Knows

By Vi Keeland

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: June 17, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Let me start by saying this book IMMEDIATELY grabbed my attention.

You think you know the plot, even if you go in blind (like I did), based on the title.

The whole time I was reading the book I was trying to figure everything out. Nothing was absolutely transparent, which made for the best type of suspense.

I devoured this book in one sitting.

The ending. Oh, the ending. A+.

This book deserves all the hype.

Murder on Sex Island

Jo Firestone

4.0

funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Murder on Sex Island

By Jo Firestone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: June 23, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishers for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is a whodunit mystery, but also hilarious. Very ‘Only Murders In The Building’ meets ‘Big Brother’.

This is the first book in what will I’m sure become a series for the gumshoe alter ego of Marie Jones, Miss Luella van Horn.

I enjoyed this one.

Party of Liars

Kelsey Cox

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Party Of Liars

By Kelsey Cox

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: June 30, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This one started a little disjointed, like the legend of “Bloody Mary” that we all learned in middle school but couldn’t pinpoint the catalyst for.

Was it going to be a ghost story?

By 30% in, I was hooked by the back-and-forth POVs, anxious to know WHAT was going to happen, and WHO is was going to happen to.

Then everything fell into place and the twists were well done.

What a great ending. Resolved. Mostly.

A Curse Carved in Bone

Danielle L. Jensen

3.5

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A Curse Carved in Bone
[Saga of the Unfated # 2]
By Danielle L. Jensen

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This book had SO much potential.

And I probably would have rated it higher if I would have done a reread of book 1.

It took me a while to remember the cast of characters.

At some point, it just felt boring.

I mean, so much of the story was good.

But reading it just felt… boring? I can’t quite describe it. Maybe it lacked some originality? Or it felt like the entire Vikings series on tv.

Same Time Next Year

Tessa Bailey

3.0

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Same Time Next Year

By Tessa Bailey

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a short, spicy hockey romance novella.

While I’m not the biggest fan of the hockey romance scene (just not a fan of the sport in general), this book wasn’t really centered on the sport. It was a hot-and-heavy marriage of convenience ploy for a green card turned insta-love.

But. It was a nice distraction while I was sitting at the salon getting my hair done.

Read if: you like spicy quick-reads and need something to read in a couple hours.

Available on KU.